Root Beer Reviews – Page 58 – Eric’s Gourmet Root Beer Blog

Training Wheels Root Beer

Sep 062017

Tamarack Brewing Company Training Wheels Root Beer Pint Last week all of my preparations were complete for the big move, so my family and I hit the road on our epic road trip to Minnesota. In addition to the many road side attractions like Little Bighorn Battlefield and Mount Rushmore, I was determined to find some new brews. The first stop was Radio Brewing Company in Idaho, who, according to their online menu, had a house root beer and huckleberry soda. But it was all lies when we showed up. They stopped making their own root beer awhile ago. That’s what I get for not calling. So I determined to find another root beer, knowing that I’d passed at least one in Spokane. I found the Tamarack Brewing Company in Missoula which was just about when we’d need to eat dinner. They call their root beer Training Wheels because I assume they think it’s working up to something harder, rather than the best reason to visit the place. Across the street from the brewery is the carousel, which my children demanded to go on. I managed to get the brass ring and get a free ride! Then it was off to dinner and my work, root beer!

The Body is rich and creamy with standard flavor and some nice vanilla. There’s a slight fruity tinge that detracts but not much. The Bite is very mild and smooth, I wish it had more spice. The Head is very short but it is there and it doesn’t fizz away instantly. The Aftertaste is a creamy vanilla.

This stuff is pretty good, but just not quite there in several categories. It’s fine enough with their delicious food, and with outdoor seating, a fun place to kick back for a cold one after the carousel on a summer’s evening. The first day of my trip turned out well.

Three and a half kegs

My dinner of some delicious barbecue pulled pork and brisket sandwich with coleslaw on it. Yum!

A look back to the kegs they tap into for the bar.

Glacier Brewing Company Root Beer

Bottled Root Beers No Responses »

Aug 302017

Glacier Brewing Company Root Beer Bottle I know nothing about this brewery. Their website is completely devoid of any information about their history, philosophy, or anything other than what they make and where they are and merch and stuff. The one thing that I do know is that the brewery is in Polson, Montana. Polson is on the Flathead Lake, which is also the origin (the bottom anyways) of the only other root beer I’ve had from Montana. I wonder if there’s some connection between them, other than the lake. I also wonder what the background design on the label is supposed to be. Is that a glacier, the lake, the shape of the city limits? I’ve no clue at all. Perhaps it’s nothing and I’m looking for meaning where there is none, like that Ithaca label. I had to mail order this one by calling the brewery direct. Thankfully they actually shipped it with no delays.

The Body is sour with a light sarsaparilla and vanilla flavor. It’s also soapy with bitter notes. The Bite is sharp and sour, almost a fermented sour. The Head is too much, I never thought I’d say it, but it is. Pouring in 10% of the bottle fills my 20 ounce mug with foam. It also never seems to go away. And it tastes nasty. The Aftertaste is sour and bitter without much flavor.

I can’t believe that I am actually saying there’s too much Head, I usually give more points the taller and longer lasting it is, but there was always some hypothetical limit before, and now I know what it’s like when that limit is crossed. The bottle is kind of pretty though, but not really. What is it with the Flathead Lake and bad root beer? See how it rates against other root beers.

Demented Brewing Company Root Beer

Draft and Keg Root Beers No Responses »

Aug 232017

A glass of Demented Brewing Company Root Beer Last week I had a rather sudden and unexpected business trip to New Jersey. And though you think you may know where this is going, you’re wrong, the first thing I didn’t wasn’t look for some new brewery, but rather to tell anthony that I was coming his way. You see, the only reviewer who’s been doing this longer than me is he, and though we’ve known about each other since the ’90s, we’ve never met. To share a brew with such a one as him was the first priority. And what luck, upon meeting he revealed that he knew of a brewery, not 10 minutes from his very house (and my hotel as it were, though a different direction), that he’d never tried. This was beyond my greatest expectations. The two root beer legends, sitting together for a review. The place was the Demented Brewing Company, who’s small taproom sported a very strange and demonically painted wall. But it was all Jersey Devil themed, which I guess is kind of big over there, so it’s not like they’re all devil worshipers or something. Just local legend loving. Anyways it was a nice small place with a friendly staff and a brew that was, well…

The Body rich and kind of creamy, but the flavors are also mild and standard. It’s sweet, there’s some licorice and wintergreen, a tad bit of vanilla, but it’s not overly strong in any one direction. The Bite is mild too, not much going on in the way of spices. There’s a very short Head but it lingers a bit. The Aftertaste is more mild licorice and wintergreen.

Ah, a pleasant yet forgettable brew. Nice and middle of the road so as not to offend. They said that the get the extract premade and then mix with sugar and a few other things, so it’s not like they put a whole lot of effort into it. That said, they have made sure that it isn’t a bad brew and as an added treat, they just give it away for free, which took anthony and I quite aback when we tried to pay our tab. So yeah, friendly place, nice people, drinkable root beer.

Three kegs

The picture the root beer world has been waiting for for decades.

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